A Little Nudge In The Right Direction
by articcat621
Summary: It's Christmas time at Grimmauld Place and Hermione is feeling a bit apprehensive about her feelings for a certain werewolf. Ginny, unable to resist, takes matters into her own hands. Together, she and Teddy just may be able to push the two of them together.


A/N: This was originally written for the MiniFest over at LJ. Many thanks to my betas Krisssy and Muggle Jane and my alpha JenniseiBlack. I hope you all enjoy this piece of holiday fluff!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.

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**A Little Nudge In The Right Direction**

Hermione sipped at her champagne, glancing around Grimmauld Place. The House of Black was decorated for the holidays, the Order's favorite time of year. The usual bunch had gathered for their yearly Christmas party. Ever since Voldemort was been defeated five years ago, the Order and most of Dumbledore's Army gathered for holiday cheer, and they had all quickly turned to a family.

Looking around the room, Hermione's gaze landed on Remus. He stood with Sirius, talking and drinking. He looked good, better than he had been. Hermione knew he had struggled a bit after Tonks's death at the Battle of Hogwarts. She knew being a single father was tough on him, but he seemed better than ever. The dark circles under his eyes had started to fade, and he was smiling for the first time in ages.

The two of them had grown close over the past few years. Hermione spent a lot of time with Teddy and Remus, helping them both when she could. Hermione also took care of Teddy when Remus was away during the full moon because of his transformations. During their time together, Hermione started to develop a crush on Remus, but she was too afraid to tell him. She wasn't sure if he would ever date again, and she didn't want to press him about the matter. She feared that if she did he might reject her, and besides, she was content with just being involved in his and Teddy's lives, at least for now.

"Hermione, just go over and talk to him," Ginny said, appearing out of nowhere.

Hermione startled, glancing at her friend nervously. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Ginny shifted baby James to her other hip and gave Hermione a knowing look. "You can't fool me, Hermione. I know you, and I know that you like Remus. You have liked him for a long time, and I see the looks you give him when you think no one is looking. Just go talk to him."

"I can't," Hermione responded. "I don't want to—"

"Tell him how you feel?" Ginny finished for her. "And why not? He may just return your feelings."

"I doubt it," Hermione said, frowning. "And even if he did, I don't know if he's ready. I know he misses Tonks a lot. She was his wife, and he still loves her."

"And he always will," Ginny reminded her. "But that doesn't mean he won't ever love anyone else again. He deserves to be happy and so do you." She shook her head. "You should tell him, Hermione."

Hermione cast her eyes downward. "I don't want to risk making things awkward for us, Ginny. I'd rather have him as a close friend than nothing at all. I don't want anything I have with him or Teddy to be jeopardized because of my feelings."

"But you love him," Ginny murmured sadly.

"I know I do," Hermione responded. "But I love him too much to tell him. I can't risk hurting him or myself."

Ginny frowned. "Don't be silly." She sighed, knowing Hermione wasn't likely to change her mind. "Just think about it," she said before walking away.

Hermione finished her champagne before moving to get another one. Before she could get another glass, however, Teddy latched onto her leg.

"Auntie," he said, clinging to her.

She laughed, scooting him upwards so his legs were now wrapped around her waist. "Teddy, you're getting a bit too big for me to carry you around."

Teddy grinned at her shyly. "But I love when you carry me," he said, pouting his lips a bit.

"That just means you're becoming a big boy, Teddy." Hermione smiled at him.

"Why were you staring at Daddy?" Teddy asked crinkling his nose.

"Your daddy? Oh, Teddy, I wasn't staring," Hermione murmured, clearly embarrassed that even Teddy had noticed. "I just saw that he looked happy today."

"He is," Teddy said. "Daddy is very happy."

"And I like that," Hermione said, giving Teddy another bright smile. "Seeing your Daddy happy makes me happy."

"It does?"

Hermione froze, her eyes widening. She turned around and saw Remus standing there. A smirk was on his face, letting her know that he had heard every word. "Remus," she whispered, clearly embarrassed. "I just meant…"

"I know what you meant," Remus responded.

"Er, right," Hermione mumbled, looking around for an exit. She went to move, but found she was frozen. "What did you do?" she hissed, looking at him angrily.

Remus looked confused. "I didn't do anything."

"I can't move!" she cried, trying to get away from him.

Remus went to move as well but found that his feet were also planted firmly on the ground. He glanced at her, surprise etched on his face.

"Look!" Teddy cried from Hermione's arms. He pointed upwards.

Both Hermione and Remus looked up to see a bunch of mistletoe above them. That explained why they couldn't move.

Everyone in the room seemed to notice what was going on. When Hermione's gaze landed on Ginny, she saw her friend was grinning mischievously and knew that Ginny was somehow responsible for this. She mentally vowed to get her friend back.

Remus cleared his throat before speaking. "Hermione."

She looked to him, her heart hammering in her chest. "Remus, I…"

"Just kiss already!" Teddy shouted impatiently.

Hermione and Remus both looked at him, startled.

"Go on, kiss," Teddy insisted. "I know Aunt Hermione wants to kiss you, Daddy, just like you want to kiss her. So kiss! Kiss!"

Remus looked embarrassed by his son's words, but he leant forward anyways. His lips brushed Hermione's in the gentlest of kisses before he pulled away. His blue eyes peered into her brown ones. "Hermione?"

She smiled at him. "Do it again."

Remus grinned as well. He leant forward, wrapping his arms around Hermione. Teddy was now sandwiched in between the two. Remus kissed Hermione once more, this time with more passion.

The kiss was everything Hermione hoped it would be. When the two broke apart, the rest of the room broke into a loud clap.

"About time!" Ron shouted, giving them both a thumb's up.

"At least someone said it," Sirius added cheekily.

Hermione looked at Remus. "I've wanted to do that for quite some time."

Remus smiled at her. "I know. Me too."

"So…" she trailed off, not quite sure what to say.

"Want to give this a go?" Remus asked. "There's no one else I'd rather move forward with than you."

She blushed as she nodded. "Let's give this a go."

Teddy wriggled in her arms. Hermione placed him back down on the floor. "Does this mean I can call you Mummy?"

Hermione frowned. "Teddy, I can't replace your Mum."

"I know," he said, peering up at her. "But I like you a lot, and so does Daddy. I wouldn't mind you being my new Mum."

Hermione glanced at Remus who nodded. She then turned her attention back to Teddy. "If that's what you want, sweetheart, you can call me Mum."

Teddy grinned excitedly. "Great! Now, why don't we open presents?" he asked, looking around excitedly.

Remus took Hermione's hand and squeezed it gently. "Merry Christmas, Hermione," he said.

She smiled at him before giving him another kiss. It seemed like kiss under the mistletoe was all the couple needed. She'd have to remember to thank Ginny later.

"Merry Christmas, Remus."


End file.
